In this episode, we speak with author and survivor Beth Granger, who spent 30 years inside a Canadian boarding school that functioned as a hidden cult. She shares her experiences with coercive control, public shaming, family separation, and religious trauma, along with the difficult, non-linear reality of healing.
Beth also discusses the landmark class action lawsuit she helped lead—the first historical abuse case to win at trial in Canada—and reflects on its personal cost and impact. She explains how writing her memoir, Born and Razed, became a key part of her recovery.
This conversation explores not just survival, but what it takes to rebuild a life, reclaim identity, and turn personal truth into meaningful change.
Trigger Warning: Due to these episodes containing stories that involve cults and other types of coercive control that may be disturbing to some, listener discretion is advised.

Mentioned in the episode:

You can find Living Cult Free on social media, especially on Instagram, at livingcultfree Our website is livingcultfree.com. The mission of Living Cult Free is to highlight survivor voices, strengthen self-agency, and provide education that builds resilience against coercion and abuse.

At the website above, you can:

• Contact us to share your story
• Meet who runs and collaborates with Living Cult Free
• Make a donation to help further Living Cult Free’s mission

Thank you for your support!

©2024 Living Cult Free

Intro & outro by Jon Snow; Original Music by Esther Friedman

Editing and production by Vanessa Hennessey

Huge thanks to Living Cult Free’s intern, Nikki Kattamuri, and the Living Cult Free Board of Directors; as well as Erica A. Slauson for her help with transcription.

Music and sound found on Pixabay, by:

Dream-Protocol, DSTechnician, Everything_is_dead, Juan Sanchez, Kimberly Campbell, Leigh Robinson, Paul Winter, Sergii Pavkin

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Living Cult Free. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The Living Cult Free name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

When a cult leader put his towel next to Hoyt’s on a beach in Nantucket, the then 16 year old’s life changed dramatically as he was slowly drawn deeper and deeper in. This is a story of coercive control that took over everything, how he ultimately escaped, and reclaimed what was stolen from him - including his connection to the love of his life.

Find Hoyt at his Instagram and catch the documentary featuring Hoyt on HBO!

You can find Living Cult Free on social media, especially on Instagram, at livingcultfree Our website is livingcultfree.com where the mission is to support the creative expression of survivor stories and empower advocacy through education.

At the website above, you can:

• Contact us to share your story
• Meet who runs and collaborates with Living Cult Free
• Make a donation to help further Living Cult Free’s mission

Thank you for your support!

©2024 Living Cult Free

Intro & outro by Jon Snow; Original Music by Esther Friedman

Editing and production by Vanessa Hennessey

Huge thanks to Living Cult Free’s intern, Nikki Kattamuri, and the Living Cult Free Board of Directors.

Music and sound by: Anton Vlasov, Clavier-Music, Deane Patterson, Dvir Silverstone, Freesound_community, Leonid Timachev, Michael Koreli, Music-for-Videos, NiKneT_Art, Spin Opel, Universfield, Zec53

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Living Cult Free. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The Living Cult Free name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

We are so excited to share this bonus episode: a follow up conversation with Mariama. Her first episode (#5 - “Breaking Free: Mariama’s Journey of Healing and Self Discovery”) focused on her exit from the cult she was raised in. If you haven’t heard it already, we encourage you to hit pause on this one and listen to that one first! On this one, we invite you to listen and help us celebrate Mariama’s post-cult reclamation. Here, she shares her hard won wisdom as well as the challenges she has met along the way. Her insights are pearls of wisdom that we hope will inspire you.

Trigger Warning: Due to these episodes containing stories that involve cults and other types of coercive control that may be disturbing to some, listener discretion is advised.

You can find Living Cult Free on social media, especially on Instagram, at livingcultfree Our website is livingcultfree.com where the mission is to support the creative expression of survivor stories and empower advocacy through education.

At the website above, you can:

• Contact us to share your story
• Meet who runs and collaborates with Living Cult Free
• Make a donation to help further Living Cult Free’s mission

Thank you for your support!

©2024 Living Cult Free

Intro & outro by Jon Snow; Original Music by Esther Friedman

Editing and production by Vanessa Hennessey

Huge thanks to Living Cult Free’s intern, Nikki Kattamuri, and the Living Cult Free Board of Directors; as well as Erica A. Slauson for her help with transcription.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Living Cult Free. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The Living Cult Free name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.